Non-Conference SuccessDartmouth welcomes Boston College to Hanover today having won the last two meetings on the diamond between the two schools. The Big Green have had terrific success against teams from outside the Ivy League at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park having won 20 straight games here with nary a loss since the stadium was built before the 2009 season.

Last Week in Review• Last Wednesday, the Big Green pulled away late at Quinnipiac in a 9-4 victory. Junior Jeff Keller hit two doubles and senior Ennis Coble hit his first home run in 210 at-bats, dating back to a four-bagger at Hartford on May 3, 2011.• Over the weekend, Dartmouth split a pair of Ivy doubleheaders, first with Princeton and then with Cornell. The Big Green suffered their worst-ever loss at Biondi Park in the opener against the Tigers, 7-1, before rebounding in game two for a 6-1 triumph. Senior Kyle Hunter baffled the Princeton hitters, striking out a career-high 11 over eight-plus innings to earn the win.• In the first game against the Big Red, Dartmouth pulled out a thrilling 1-0 victory on national television when freshman Trent Goodrich drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the ninth. Senior Michael Johnson did not get a decision, but threw two-hit, shutout baseball for eight innings. Cornell returned the favor in the second game, shutting out the Green on four hits in a 3-0 Dartmouth defeat.

Last Time Against the EaglesLast year in Chestnut Hill, Dartmouth defeated Boston College by a 9-6 final, taking the lead in the top of the first and never relinquishing it. Matt Parisi hit an RBI triple for the quick lead and came home on a grounder off the bat of Chris O’Dowd. The Big Green scored five times in the fifth to blow the game open, with the big hit a two-run double by David Turnbull. In the eighth, Jeff Keller provided some insurance with a two-run blast. Chris England made his first collegiate start and earned the victory, allowing four runs on 10 hits over five innings. The final four frames were thrown by Mike Dodakian, who earned the save.

The Overall Record vs. BC• The Eagles have the advantage in the all-time series, going 37-28 against Dartmouth.• The Big Green have won the last two against BC, however, their first winning streak in the series since taking three straight from 1969-71.• Boston College’s only previous trip to Biondi Park came two years ago, which ended as a 15-10 Dartmouth victory thanks to an eight-run eighth. But the Eagles are 8-5 at this site since the field was dedicated in Red Rolfe’s honor in 1970.• Dartmouth head coach Bob Whalen has a 4-10 record against the Eagles.• The two teams first met on the diamond in 1886 with Dartmouth winning, 10-2. The Big Green won each of the first six games between the two schools up until the 1918 season.

Scouting the Eagles• It has been a long season already for Boston College with just five victories in 30 contests and an 0-14 mark in the ACC.• Offense has been hard to come by as the Eagle hitters are hitting a collective .199. John Hennessey is the lone regular hitting even .250 while Chris Shaw has four of the team’s seven home runs. Blake Butera and Joe Cronin have on-base percentages hovering around .350 as well.• The pitching staff sports a 6.57 ERA, has walked one batter every other inning and struck out close to six batters per nine innings. Opponents are hitting .318 against Boston College hurlers.• In the field, the Eagles have committed 52 errors for a .955 fielding percentage.

Probable Starting Pitchers• Dartmouth Head Coach Bob Whalen will send sophomore LHP Adam Frank (1-0, 8.59) to the mound against Boston College. The southpaw struggled his last time out, lasting just 2.1 innings versus Siena, but won his first start of the season by allowing just two hits and two runs in five innings against Vassar.• Boston College is sending RHP Eric Stone (1-0, 5.56) to face the Big Green lineup. Stone is making his 10th appearance and second start of 2013, having allowed 22 base runners in 11.1 innings with four strikeouts.

What’s Up NextDartmouth has another non-conference game tomorrow at Holy Cross at 4 p.m. The Big Green will return to Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park this weekend to host a four-game Ivy series with Brown with twinbills on Saturday and Sunday at noon.

Stellar StaffOne big reason for Dartmouth’s 17-5 start to the 2013 season is terrific pitching. Big Green hurlers are among the top 30 nationally in ERA (2.83, 26th), strikeouts per nine innings (8.4, 24th), fewest walks allowed per nine innings (2.45, 11th) and WHIP (walks and hits per inning at 1.19, 25th). Left-hander Michael Johnson is 16th in the country in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.24) while he and fellow southpaw Kyle Hunter are among the top 60 in ERA, each coming in at 1.57. And to top it off, sophomore closer Thomas Olson has not allowed a run in 10 appearances.

Non-Conference Home GamesDartmouth has enjoyed great success at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park since the stadium was built for the 2009 season, especially against non-conference foes. Since the inaugural game at the facility against Siena on April 1, 2009, the Big Green have won all 20 contests against teams from outside the Ivy League on this field. The last non-conference team to win a game in Hanover? Boston College on April 30, 2008.

King Kong KellerWhile that nickname originally went to the old Yankee outfielder Charlie Keller, junior Jeff Keller can lay claim to it as well with his recent torrid stretch. He recently enjoyed an 11-game hitting streak during which he hit an even .500 with 14 of his 19 hits going for extra bases (10 doubles, two triples and two homers) with 13 runs and 14 RBIs. With 14 doubles in just 21 games, he is the nation’s per game leader in the category (0.67).

Another 1-0 VictoryWith the thrilling 1-0 win over Cornell on Sunday that was televised by Fox College Sports, Dartmouth has now won 36 games in its history by that score. This is just the third year in which the Big Green have at least two 1-0 triumphs to their credit, having defeated Northern Illinois by that score back on March 2. Dartmouth won twice by 1-0 scores in 1964 and four times in 1975. Head coach Bob Whalen has seven such victories, most recently on March 1, 2008 at Navy.

Televised Game a SuccessFox College Sports televised the first baseball game of the doubleheader against Cornell at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park on April 7, and the Big Green made it count by winning 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off walk. It was the first appearance on TV for Dartmouth since playing in the 2010 NCAA Regional at Miami that was aired by ESPNU.

Historic StartFirst Dartmouth won its first three games to win the Dairy Queen Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and match its best start in the 24 years that head coach Bob Whalen has directed the program. Then the Big Green extended their win streak to eight, equaling the most victories to start a season that was set by the 1903 squad. Currently, the 17-5 record matches the best 22-game start in Dartmouth history, joining the 1925 and 1967 squads.

Ivy Statistical LeadersIt’s no surprise that Dartmouth boasts numerous statistical leaders in the Ivy League. As a team, the Big Green lead the Ancient Eight batting average (.297), on-base percentage (.361) and slugging (.431), as well as scoring (5.9 runs per game), ERA (2.83) and fielding percentage (.980). Among individuals, Jeff Keller leads the loop in slugging (.711) and triples (3), and is second in doubles (14) and on-base percentage (.448). On the mound, Michael Johnson has the lowest batting average against (.172) and is second in strikeouts (32), and Thomas Olson is tied at the top with six saves.